Big P and Little P Politics: Contemporary and Enduring Challenges for K-12 School Board Members

November 2026

School board service has become more complex in the current era of heightened partisan polarization and the nationalization of education. This mixed-methods paper draws on interviews with and a statewide survey of board members in California, and the theory of emotional labor. We explore how members experience contemporary national issues (“Big P Politics”), and everyday challenges of managing local power dynamics with constituents, interest groups, and colleagues (“little p politics”). Although Big P Politics created challenges, these issues did not predict reelection intent. In contrast, little p politics generated some of the greatest struggles and were associated with lower rates of planning to pursue reelection. We find suggestive evidence this was due to the emotional toll of navigating little p politics.

Keywords

School board, politics

Education level

K-12 Education

Topics

Policy, Politics, and Governance